


Grand Declaration

by mp3



Category: Free!
Genre: F/M, Leaving Home, departure, last minute confession
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-07-10
Updated: 2014-07-11
Packaged: 2018-02-08 05:38:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,536
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1928649
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mp3/pseuds/mp3
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A rainy day confession could change everything.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Almost Worth It

**Author's Note:**

> This fic was inspired by Jasey Rae (the version on Punk Goes Acoustic) by All Time Low. It's an awfully sad song to me, especially when applied to this pairing.  
> Anyways, this is my very first attempt at a HaruGou fic, and I actually am quite pleased with it, so I sincerely hope that you all like it! I'm not sure when the next (which is also the last) chapter will be up, but let's say you can expect it within the next two to three days~

"I'm not going to be gone forever, you know," Gou smiled, releasing the door handle when she realized that Haru wouldn't be letting go of her any time soon.  
He didn't answer, and instead squeezed her tighter, their hearts beating firmly against the others' chest. Grasping at the back of her shirt, he tucked his chin into the crook of her neck as the light breeze of his car's air conditioner blew her bangs around.  
"Come on, Haru," She coaxed, pushing lightly against his chest from her position on the other side of the arm rest. "I'm going to miss my flight."  
"With any luck, you will." He countered, hands still connected loosely on the other side of her small waist.  
"Haru!" She squealed when he nipped at her collarbone, undoubtedly one of his many failed attempts that day to get her to forget about her departure that evening.  
"Sorry," he stated unapologetically, pulling back once more, hair ruffled from Gou running her fingers through it.  
She had asked him earlier that week if her would be so kind as to drive her to the airport for her late flight. Her parents were out of town, and the guys were supposed to have swim competition that day, had it not been cancelled due to the bad weather. The event never mattered to Haru, though. He was willing to drop it all in a moment--he was ready to sacrifice anything for her.  
Not that she knew. Not that she would ever know.  
No, for they had only just recently gotten past second base the week before Gou had gotten an internship opportunity at a popular magazine company located in the United States. Any time she had asked him about how he felt about her, why he stuck around when he wouldn't even say the big three words, he would shrug his shoulders noncommittally and abruptly change the subject.  
Gou opened the passenger door and stepped out into the pouring rain, stopping at the trunk to grab her bags. Immediately, Haru was at her side, tugging at the handles before she lost her balance at their weight.  
"Thanks," she breathed out gratefully, her tennis shoes making a squelching sound against the soaked pavement of the parking lot as she jogged to catch up with Haru, who was already making his way towards the airport. He may have been reluctant at the idea of her leaving, but he was one of few who understood the importance of why she was leaving.  
Squish, squish, squish.  
Haru had to admit that he had been more than a little put off by Gou's initial excitement of leaving the country. According to her, Amakata-sensei had recommended her, sending in some of her essays and short stories to the company, and it had only taken two weeks for them to respond (which was rather impressive, considering how many applications they received every day). He had been reassured many times by multiple people that it was only a two year deal, but none of it made a dent in his worrying, paranoid mind. After all, a lot could happen in the span of 730 days. She could get a job offer. The internship could be extended by another six months. She could find that she loves America more than she loves him. She could find that she loves someone more than him.  
He shook the poisonous thoughts from his head, opting to focus on Gou.  
"So..." he didn't know what to say at this point. What could he say at this point? There were so many things that he should have said and done while they still had time--so many things that he could still say if he could work up the courage in time.  
He held the door open for her, despite the fact that he was holding two of her three bags. They made their way up the escalator hand-in-hand, stomachs twisting in fear of the unknown.  
Gou reached the top first, her eyes wide in anticipation as she caught sight of the long line in front of security. Setting her bags down beside them, Haru turned to face his girlfriend, eyes roaming her face for something, anything that he could look back on in his moments of desperation in the twenty four months to come.  
"I guess this is it," she said, her anxious gaze shifting to meet his soft one.  
"Kou-" he started, stopping himself before something too terribly stupid would come out of his mouth. Instead, he pulled her to him and kissed her, moving his hands from her cheeks to her rain-soaked hair.  
As soon as they separated, she looked up at him and sighed, "Was that really necessary? As if it weren't hard enough for me to leave..."  
They stood in an unwelcome silence, a somewhat mutual understanding passing between them that some things just weren't meant to be said last-minute at a crowded airport.  
"Haru, this isn't goodbye," Gou said, her maroon eyes catching his blue ones. "I know that we won't have a lot of opportunities to talk while I'm over there, and you'll be busy with swim practice, and we'll be on completely opposite schedules, but..." she drifted off, obviously not seeing any good coming out of this situation.  
He pressed a kiss to her forehead and held her to him. "I'll see you soon. Call me when you land,"  
And with so few things taken care of, she turns and walks away, her eyes stinging with broken promises. Is this what it felt like for a dream to come true? How could anyone be satisfied in life when they had to give one important thing to gain another completely different one?  
"I love you, Kou."  
Kou froze in her tracks, her grip loosening on her luggage. How dare he say something like that ten seconds before her departure? The words that she had been waiting to hear from him for months and he just now says it. Just how complicated was he trying to make things?  
She spun on her heel to face him and laughed quietly to herself before whispering a quiet "I know" and walking away.


	2. Change Of Heart

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "These things don't last forever, but what we have will if we try."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know, I know. This chapter is a little short, but I ran out of material. I'm just itching to start on my new HaruGou fic. This chapter was inspired by My Dearest by Supercell.  
> I don't know when I'll get around to writing (or uploading, for that matter) chapter 3, which won't be an epilogue or continuation but actually an alternative to chapter 2. It'll be more angsty and serious where Gou's flight left as scheduled and she ends up getting a job offer, so she stays in the U.S. and then she runs into Haru like 5 years later when she's visiting Rin in Japan and yeahh... Awkwardness ensues.  
> Anyways, I hope that'll clear up any potential confusion for when I upload it...

Gou sat in the terminal, her eyes fixated on the rain outside. The lightning came in long, bright flashes like a camera, and the thunder was loud enough to shake the windows. She doubted that her flight would take off tonight, but she still sat there, regardless.

Haru's words still rang loudly in her ears. She simply wanted him to be happy, to let go because she couldn't, but it seems that her plans backfired. She had tried her best to seem happy and optimistic about leaving Japan--about leaving everything behind. In truth, she was fucking terrified. What the hell was she supposed to do in America? Drink coffee and read books whilst sitting at the kitchen table in her shitty shoe box apartment?

 _How much nicer a life with Haru would be,_ she thought.

It was too late, however. She had blown her chance by not openly reciprocating his feelings as she had wished for him to for so long.

_"Due to weather conditions, flight 36A has been cancelled. I repeat, flight 36A has been cancelled. We are accepting refunds for tickets for this flight, and apologize for any inconveniences."_

Luggage in hand, Gou got up and made her way to the ticket desk closer to the front of the airport only to find that there was already a long line. Suddenly, Gou didn't want a refund.

She just wanted Haru.

* * *

 

Haru climbed out of his bathtub, eyes stinging and throat tickling with the unfamiliar feeling of tears (ones that would never fall).

He opened the door to the bathroom, stopping only to grab his towel as he trudged into his kitchen.

How would he live without seeing Gou every day? How could he have gone so long before with only passing her in the schoolyard or hallways?

His phone vibrated on the table in his living room, but he didn't check to see who it was. Surely Gou hadn't landed yet...

Three sharp yet urgent raps on his door shocked Haru out of his trance of staring out of his window. The noirette swiped his phone from the table on his way to the entry room. Pushing the 'answer' button on his phone and pressing it to his ear, he muttered a "hello?" as he slid open the door...

...only to come face to face with a soaked Gou.

Her phone emitted a soft glow onto her cheek from it's place pressed against her ears. Thunder and lightning cracked overhead, jolting Haru out of his trance.

"Hi," she spoke, her breath visible in the cold air.

He reached out, pulling her to him as soon as the syllable was out of her mouth. Holding her by the base of her neck, he tucked his nose into the smooth slope of her pale neck. 

"I love you, too," she responded. 

It wasn't the ending anyone had expected (the whispers that followed them in the school halls the following Monday told them as much), but at least everything was as it should be.


End file.
